Unemployment Rate U-6

13.1%

Series Id: LNS13327709 Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (seas) Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers Labor force status: Aggregated totals unemployed
Type of data: Percent or rate
Age: 16 years and over
Percent/rates: Unemployed and mrg attached and pt for econ reas as percent of labor force plus marg attached

Year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Annual

2000

7.1

7.2

7.1

6.9

7.1

7.0

7.0

7.1

7.0

6.8

7.1

6.9

2001

7.3

7.4

7.3

7.4

7.5

7.9

7.8

8.1

8.7

9.3

9.4

9.6

2002

9.5

9.5

9.4

9.7

9.5

9.5

9.6

9.6

9.6

9.6

9.7

9.8

2003

10.0

10.2

10.0

10.2

10.1

10.3

10.3

10.1

10.4

10.2

10.0

9.8

2004

9.9

9.7

10.0

9.6

9.6

9.5

9.5

9.4

9.4

9.7

9.4

9.2

2005

9.3

9.3

9.1

8.9

8.9

9.0

8.8

8.9

9.0

8.7

8.7

8.6

2006

8.4

8.4

8.2

8.1

8.2

8.4

8.5

8.4

8.0

8.2

8.1

7.9

2007

8.4

8.2

8.0

8.2

8.2

8.3

8.4

8.4

8.4

8.4

8.4

8.8

2008

9.2

9.0

9.1

9.2

9.7

10.1

10.5

10.8

11.0

11.8

12.6

13.6

2009

14.2

15.2

15.8

15.9

16.5

16.5

16.4

16.7

16.7

17.1

17.1

17.1

2010

16.7

17.0

17.1

17.2

16.6

16.4

16.4

16.5

16.8

16.6

16.9

16.6

2011

16.1

16.0

15.9

16.1

15.8

16.1

16.0

16.1

16.3

15.9

15.6

15.2

2012

15.1

15.0

14.5

14.6

14.8

14.8

14.9

14.7

14.7

14.4

14.4

14.4

2013

14.4

14.3

13.8

13.9

13.8

14.2

13.9

13.6

13.6

13.7

13.1

13.1

Employment Situation Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed USDL-14-0002 until 8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 10, 2014 Technical information: Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 * cesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/ces Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- DECEMBER 2013 The unemployment rate declined from 7.0 percent to 6.7 percent in
December, while total nonfarm payroll employment edged up (+74,000),
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose
in retail trade and wholesale trade but was down in information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data |
| |
| Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised using updated |
| seasonal adjustment factors, a procedure done at the end of each calendar |
| year. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to January 2009 were subject to |
| revision. The unemployment rates for January 2013 through November 2013 |
| (as originally published and as revised) appear in table A, along with |
| with additional information about the revisions. |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Household Survey Data
The number of unemployed persons declined by 490,000 to 10.4 million
in December, and the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percentage point
to 6.7 percent. Over the year, the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate were down by 1.9 million and 1.2 percentage points, respectively. (See table A-1.) Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (6.3 percent) and whites (5.9 percent) declined in December. The rates for adult women (6.0 percent), teenagers (20.2 percent), blacks (11.9 percent), and Hispanics (8.3 percent) showed little change. The jobless rate for Asians was 4.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted), down by 2.5 percentage points over the year. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.) Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs decreased by 365,000 in December to 5.4 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more), at 3.9 million, showed little change; these individuals accounted for 37.7 percent of the unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed has declined by 894,000 over the year. (See tables A-11 and A-12.) The civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 62.8 percent in December, offsetting a change of the same magnitude in November. In December, the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 58.6 percent. The labor force participation rate declined by 0.8 percentage point over the year, while the employment-population ratio was unchanged. (See table A-1.) The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged at 7.8 million in December. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full- time work. (See table A-8.) In December, 2.4 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, little changed from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.) Among the marginally attached, there were 917,000 discouraged workers in December, down by 151,000 from a year earlier. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.5 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in December had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.) Establishment Survey Data Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up in December (+74,000). In 2013, job growth averaged 182,000 per month, about the same as in 2012 (+183,000 per month). In December, job gains occurred in retail trade and wholesale trade, while employment declined in information. (See table B-1.) Employment in retail trade rose by 55,000 in December. Within the industry, job gains occurred in food and beverage stores (+12,000), clothing and accessories stores (+12,000), general merchandise stores (+8,000), and motor vehicle and parts dealers (+7,000). Retail trade added an average of 32,000 jobs per month in 2013. In December, wholesale trade added 15,000 jobs. Most of the job growth occurred in electronic markets and agents and brokers (+9,000). Wholesale trade added an average of 8,000 jobs per month in 2013. Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in December (+19,000). In 2013, job growth in professional and business services averaged 53,000 per month. Within the industry, temporary help services added 40,000 jobs in December, while employment in accounting and bookkeeping services declined by 25,000. Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in December (+9,000). Employment rose in primary metals (+4,000) and petroleum and coal products (+2,000), while electronic instruments (-4,000) lost jobs. Manufacturing added 77,000 jobs in 2013, compared with an increase of 154,000 jobs in 2012. Employment in mining edged up in December (+5,000). The industry added 29,000 jobs over the year. Health care employment changed little in December (-6,000). Employment gains in the industry averaged 17,000 per month in 2013, compared with an average monthly gain of 27,000 in 2012. Employment in information fell by 12,000 in December, driven by a decline in the motion picture and sound recording industry (-14,000). Employment in information was essentially unchanged over the year. Construction employment edged down in December (-16,000). However, in 2013, the industry added an average of 10,000 jobs per month. Employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors declined by 13,000 in December, possibly reflecting unusually cold weather in parts of the country. Employment in other major industries, including transportation and warehousing, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government, changed little in December. The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours in December. The manufacturing workweek was unchanged, at 41.0 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.5 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 33.6 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.) In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 2 cents to $24.17. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 42 cents, or 1.8 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 3 cents to $20.35. (See tables B-3 and B-8.) The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October remained at +200,000, and the change for November was revised from +203,000 to +241,000. With these revisions, employment gains in October and November were 38,000 higher than previously reported. ____________ The Employment Situation for January is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 7, 2014, at 8:30 a.m. (EST). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Revisions in the Establishment Survey Data | | | | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2014 on | | February 7, 2014, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey will introduce | | revisions to nonfarm payroll employment, hours, and earnings data to reflect the | | annual benchmark adjustment for March 2013 and updated seasonal adjustment factors. | | Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2012 and seasonally adjusted | | data beginning with January 2009 are subject to revision. | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Upcoming Changes to the Household Survey | | | | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2014 on | | February 7, 2014, new population controls will be used in the Current Population | | Survey (CPS) estimation process. These new controls reflect the annual updating of | | intercensal population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. In accordance with usual| | practice, historical data will not be revised to incorporate the new controls; | | consequently, household survey data for January 2014 will not be directly comparable| | with data for December 2013 or earlier periods. A table showing the effects of the | | new controls on the major labor force series will be included in the January 2014 | | release. | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Upcoming Change to the Household Survey Tables | | | | Effective with the release of The Employment Situation for January 2014 on February 7,| | 2014, household survey table A-10 will include two new seasonally adjusted series | | for women age 55 and over--the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment | | rate. These will replace the series that are currently displayed for this group, which| | are not seasonally adjusted. | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data At the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely updates the seasonal adjustment factors for the labor force series derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), or household survey. As a result of this process, seasonally adjusted data for January 2009 through November 2013 were subject to revision. Table A shows the unemployment rates for January 2013 through November 2013, as first published and as revised. The rates changed by one-tenth of a percentage point in 6 of the 11 months and were unchanged in the remaining 5 months. Revised seasonally adjusted data for other major labor force series beginning in December 2012 appear in table B. An article describing the seasonal adjustment methodology for the household survey data and revised data for January 2013 through November 2013 is available at www.bls.gov/cps/ cpsrs2014.pdf. Historical data for the household series contained in the A tables of this release can be accessed at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsatabs.htm. Revised historical seasonally adjusted data are available at www.bls.gov/cps/data.htm and http://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ln. Table A. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in 2013 and changes due to revision January - November 2013 Month As First Computed As Revised Change January............. 7.9 7.9 0.0 February............ 7.7 7.7 .0 March............... 7.6 7.5 -.1 April............... 7.5 7.5 .0 May................. 7.6 7.5 -.1 June................ 7.6 7.5 -.1 July................ 7.4 7.3 -.1 August.............. 7.3 7.2 -.1 September........... 7.2 7.2 .0 October............. 7.3 7.2 -.1 November............ 7.0 7.0 .0

CategoryDec.
2012Oct.
2013Nov.
2013Dec.
2013Change from:
Nov.
2013-
Dec.
2013Employment status Civilian noninstitutional population244,350246,381246,567246,745178Civilian labor force155,485154,625155,284154,937-347Participation rate63.662.863.062.8-0.2Employed143,212143,485144,443144,586143Employment-population ratio58.658.258.658.60.0Unemployed12,27311,14010,84110,351-490Unemployment rate7.97.27.06.7-0.3Not in labor force88,86591,75691,28391,808525 Unemployment rates Total, 16 years and over7.97.27.06.7-0.3Adult men (20 years and over)7.26.96.76.3-0.4Adult women (20 years and over)7.36.46.26.0-0.2Teenagers (16 to 19 years)24.022.020.820.2-0.6White6.96.36.15.9-0.2Black or African American14.013.012.411.9-0.5Asian (not seasonally adjusted)6.65.25.34.1-Hispanic or Latino ethnicity9.59.08.78.3-0.4 Total, 25 years and over6.56.05.85.6-0.2Less than a high school diploma11.610.810.69.8-0.8High school graduates, no college8.17.37.37.1-0.2Some college or associate degree6.96.36.46.1-0.3Bachelor’s degree and higher4.03.83.43.3-0.1 Reason for unemployment Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs6,4756,1625,7315,366-365Job leavers1,000842890862-28Reentrants3,6153,1043,0653,036-29New entrants1,2961,2171,1691,20132 Duration of unemployment Less than 5 weeks2,6882,7942,4392,255-1845 to 14 weeks2,8762,6362,5852,506-7915 to 26 weeks1,8621,7771,7421,651-9127 weeks and over4,7724,0474,0443,878-166 Employed persons at work part time Part time for economic reasons7,9298,0167,7237,77148Slack work or business conditions4,9915,0254,8694,88415Could only find part-time work2,6042,5852,4992,59293Part time for noneconomic reasons18,82518,75518,85818,731-127 Persons not in the labor force (not seasonally adjusted) Marginally attached to the labor force2,6142,2832,0962,427-Discouraged workers1,068815762917– Over-the-month changes are not displayed for not seasonally adjusted data.
NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

Footnotes(1) Includes other industries, not shown separately.(2) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries.(3) The indexes of aggregate weekly hours are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate hours by the corresponding annual average aggregate hours.(4) The indexes of aggregate weekly payrolls are calculated by dividing the current month’s estimates of aggregate weekly payrolls by the corresponding annual average aggregate weekly payrolls.(5) Figures are the percent of industries with employment increasing plus one-half of the industries with unchanged employment, where 50 percent indicates an equal balance between industries with increasing and decreasing employment.(p) Preliminary

Story 1: Third Party Time — 42% of Americans Consider Themselves Independents — Videos

Independent Voters of America: We Believe…

Bill Maher “The Independent voter is a…”

Record-High 42% of Americans Identify as Independents

Republican identification lowest in at least 25 years

by Jeffrey M. Jones

PRINCETON, NJ — Forty-two percent of Americans, on average, identified as political independents in 2013, the highest Gallup has measured since it began conducting interviews by telephone 25 years ago. Meanwhile, Republican identification fell to 25%, the lowest over that time span. At 31%, Democratic identification is unchanged from the last four years but down from 36% in 2008.

The results are based on more than 18,000 interviews with Americans from 13 separate Gallup multiple-day polls conducted in 2013.

In each of the last three years, at least 40% of Americans have identified as independents. These are also the only years in Gallup’s records that the percentage of independents has reached that level.

Americans’ increasing shift to independent status has come more at the expense of the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. Republican identification peaked at 34% in 2004, the year George W. Bush won a second term in office. Since then, it has fallen nine percentage points, with most of that decline coming during Bush’s troubled second term. When he left office, Republican identification was down to 28%. It has declined or stagnated since then, improving only slightly to 29% in 2010, the year Republicans “shellacked” Democrats in the midterm elections.

Not since 1983, when Gallup was still conducting interviews face to face, has a lower percentage of Americans, 24%, identified as Republicans than is the case now. That year, President Ronald Reagan remained unpopular as the economy struggled to emerge from recession. By the following year, amid an improving economy and re-election for the increasingly popular incumbent president, Republican identification jumped to 30%, a level generally maintained until 2007.

Democratic identification has also declined in recent years, falling five points from its recent high of 36% in 2008, the year President Barack Obama was elected. The current 31% of Americans identifying as Democrats matches the lowest annual average in the last 25 years.

Fourth Quarter Surge in Independence

The percentage of Americans identifying as independents grew over the course of 2013, surging to 46% in the fourth quarter. That coincided with the partial government shutdown in October and the problematic rollout of major provisions of the healthcare law, commonly known as “Obamacare.”

The 46% independent identification in the fourth quarter is a full three percentage points higher than Gallup has measured in any quarter during its telephone polling era.

Democrats Maintain Edge in Party Identification

Democrats maintain their six-point edge in party identification when independents’ “partisan leanings” are taken into account. In addition to the 31% of Americans who identify as Democrats, another 16% initially say they are independents but when probed say they lean to the Democratic Party. An equivalent percentage, 16%, say they are independent but lean to the Republican Party, on top of the 25% of Americans identifying as Republicans. All told, then, 47% of Americans identify as Democrats or lean to the Democratic Party, and 41% identify as Republicans or lean to the Republican Party.

Democrats have held at least a nominal advantage on this measure of party affiliation in all but three years since Gallup began asking the “partisan lean” follow-up in 1991. During this time, Democrats’ advantage has been as high as 12 points, in 2008. However, that lead virtually disappeared by 2010, although Democrats have re-established an edge in the last two years.

Implications

Americans are increasingly declaring independence from the political parties. It is not uncommon for the percentage of independents to rise in a non-election year, as 2013 was. Still, the general trend in recent years, including the 2012 election year, has been toward greater percentages of Americans identifying with neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party, although most still admit to leaning toward one of the parties.

The increased independence adds a greater level of unpredictability to this year’s congressional midterm elections. Because U.S. voters are less anchored to the parties than ever before, it’s not clear what kind of appeals may be most effective to winning votes. But with Americans increasingly eschewing party labels for themselves, candidates who are less closely aligned to their party or its prevailing doctrine may benefit.

Survey MethodsResults are based on aggregated telephone interviews from 13 separate Gallup polls conducted in 2013, with a random sample of 18,871 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones and cellular phones, with interviews conducted in Spanish for respondents who are primarily Spanish-speaking. Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by region. Landline and cell telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods. Landline respondents are chosen at random within each household on the basis of which member had the most recent birthday.

Samples are weighted to correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse, and double coverage of landline and cell users in the two sampling frames. They are also weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density, and phone status (cellphone only/landline only/both, and cellphone mostly). Demographic weighting targets are based on the March 2012 Current Population Survey figures for the aged 18 and older U.S. population. Phone status targets are based on the July-December 2011 National Health Interview Survey. Population density targets are based on the 2010 census. All reported margins of sampling error include the computed design effects for weighting.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Beginning on September 9, 2013, the dedicated toll lanes for a Fort Lee, New Jersey entrance to the upper level of the George Washington Bridge were reduced from three to one until early morning on September 13, on orders from David Wildstein (who was hired by New Jersey governor Chris Christie appointee Bill Baroni) without notification to Fort Lee government and police officials. It caused additional hours each day of even more significant traffic congestion than normal and major delays for school transportation and police and emergency response within Fort Lee during and after the peak hours of travel.[4] The reduction in these toll lanes occurred due to a purported “traffic study”, but raised speculation that they were retribution directed towards Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie’s re-election campaign.[5][6]

Investigation

On October 2, John Wisniewski, Deputy Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly, indicated that he would open an investigation to determine whether or not the lane closures were politically motivated. The Port Authority announced it would conduct an internal review on October 16.[7]

On December 13, 2013, Christie announced he had accepted the immediate resignations of Baroni and Wildstein.[8] Asked whether the lane closures had been ordered as political retribution, Christie answered “absolutely, unequivocally not.”[9] Christie added: “I’ve made it very clear to everybody on my senior staff that if anyone had any knowledge about this, they needed to come forward to me and tell me about it. And they’ve all assured me that they don’t.”[10]The New York Times published emails and text messages on January 8, 2014 tying Christie’s deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, to the closure. The content of the released communications suggests not only that the lane closures were ordered with the knowledge that they would cause a massive traffic jam, but also that this was the intended effect.[11][12] Christie released a statement later that day denying knowledge of the scandal, rebuking Bridget Anne Kelly for her role in the lane closure event, and vowing that “people will be held responsible for their actions”.[13] These lane closures may have caused slower response time for emergency vehicles and may have contributed to the death of at least one woman.[14]

The following day, Christie apologized for the lane closure and said that he was “embarrassed and humiliated” by the behavior of his staff. The governor summarily fired Bridget Anne Kelly, whom he called “stupid” and “deceitful.” for lying to him.[15] Christie further admonished his two-time campaign manager Bill Stepien by asking him to withdraw his name from the State Party Chairman race, and to cease his consulting role for the Republican Governors Association.[16] Later that day, Wildstein refused to testify before the Assembly Transportation committee, invoking the constitutional protection from self incrimination.[17]

Repercussions

As of January 9, 2014, there is a wide range of opinion about the impact of this scandal on a potential Christie presidential bid.[18]

Christie Views Lane Closings on George Washington Bridge as Overblown

It began with a few orange traffic cones in September, when local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge abruptly closed for four days, gridlocking Fort Lee, N.J.

But after legislative hearings, the resignations of two of his confidants and demands for more answers, the allegation that drivers were made to suffer for the sake of petty political payback has grown into a major irritation for Gov. Chris Christie.

It was merely a mistake, he said, or rather, “a mistake got made.” The article that said he had called Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York to complain that the controversy was getting too much attention? “The story was wrong.” The resignation yesterday, by the man at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge? “This was a change I was going to make anyway,” Mr. Christie said.

But to explain that it was not such a big deal, the governor spent more than an hour of his time. And he said he had watched “most of” the hearing this week that laid out the details of the closings — a hearing that had stretched for more than six hours.

Even if the lane closings were not retribution, even if Mr. Christie did not know about them, the accusation of nasty politics goes to the heart of one of the governor’s vulnerabilities as he prepares to run for president. In how many other states, after all, do pollsters routinely ask voters whether they agree that their governor is a bully?

So Mr. Christie, among the deftest of politicians, took pains to put any tone of bullying aside. His normally combative self, the wagging finger and borderline contempt for reporters, was gone, replaced by a charmer, widening his eyes and offering extensive explanation.

The “culture of fear” that workers described at the Port Authority? “The first I’ve heard of it,” he said, and shrugged.

Punishing the mayor of Fort Lee? “I don’t have any recollection of having met the mayor of Fort Lee,” he said. (Twitter then exploded with copies of a photo of the governor with the mayor, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat.)

Is there a bottom of this story to get to? “I don’t think so,” Mr. Christie said, shrugging again. He added, “We’re going to turn the page now.”

Mr. Christie understands the stakes: Because he is a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, Democrats and the news media will watch his every move. (“Get used to the new world,” he told one reporter on Friday, smiling.)

He was not quite taking responsibility: more like putting distance. The lanes had been closed, he said twice, “at the request of Mr. Wildstein” — David Wildstein, an old friend of Mr. Christie’s, who resigned from his $150,000-a-year job at the Port Authority a week ago.

Asked about Bill Baroni, another close friend and the governor’s chief appointee at the Port Authority until he resigned on Friday, Mr. Christie said he had not spoken to him “in the last period of time.”

By the end of the hour, the governor tried to turn the situation to his advantage, offering that he wished more people in public life would own up to their mistakes. His office followed up by emailing a video clip from the news conference headlined, “I Take Responsibility for Things That Happen on My Watch.” It opened with him saying, “I wouldn’t characterize myself as angry.”

National Democratic groups had jumped on the controversy after details of the moves by Mr. Baroni and Mr. Wildstein came out at a legislative hearing here Monday, and Democrats in the State Legislature said their investigations would continue. Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who led the hearing Monday, said he expected more hearings to follow up on seven subpoenas he sent on Thursday, including for email correspondence between the governor’s office and the Port Authority. That agency’s inspector general is also investigating.

“We still don’t have a full accounting of what happened, why it was allowed to occur, everyone who was involved and what their motivations were,” said State Senator Loretta Weinberg, the Democratic majority leader, who has attended Port Authority meetings in recent months to seek answers. She called the resignations “an admission of guilt.”

Mr. Baroni, who earned $291,100 at the Port Authority in 2011, is a former Republican state senator who was appointed by Mr. Christie in the face of a primary challenge for his legislative seat. At the Port Authority, he created a new job for Mr. Wildstein, who was a high school friend of the governor and who later became mayor of their hometown, Livingston, and started an anonymous political blog that was noted for scoops from the United States attorney’s office when Mr. Christie led it.

Port Authority workers testified on Monday that the lane closings had caused emergency vehicles to be delayed, commutes to stretch to four hours and children to be late to the first day of school. It cost the agency toll revenue and overtime pay.

Mr. Wildstein, the workers said, told them not to tell anyone about the closings, and had not followed procedure for such significant changes to traffic patterns — 75,000 cars use those lanes each day. The Port Authority workers said they had gone along with the plan despite warning it would “not end well”; they said they had feared for their jobs, because Mr. Wildstein worked for Mr. Baroni, and Mr. Baroni worked for the governor.

If there was a traffic study, the workers testified, it had not resulted in any report that they knew of.

Mr. Christie said, “I’ve heard more about this than I ever wanted to,” and said he had better ways of spending Friday mornings than talking for an hour about traffic studies and road closings. Still, at the end of the news conference, in which he named a former prosecutor and close aide of his, Deborah Gramiccioni, to Mr. Baroni’s post, Mr. Christie suggested it might be worth examining why Fort Lee should have local access lanes.

But he added that he was not about to call for it right away: “Everybody needs some time to calm down.”